PIGOUT® Feral Pig Bait is the first product for the Invasive Animal CRC (IA
CRC) - the result of several years' collaborative research and development
effort by the CRC and Animal control Technologies Australia (ACTA) in
partnership with many state and territory government agencies concerned about
feral pig management.
Meat and Livestock Australia and the National Feral Animal Control Program of
the Bureau of Rural Sciences (DAFF) provided significant support to the
project.
IA CRC CEO Professor Tony Peacock explained Australia needed a new weapon
against pigs, which cause an estimated AUD100m (USD91m) damage to agriculture
industries annually.
"Pigs are also a major disease carrier, spreading leptospirosis, Japanese
encephalitis and swine fever."
Prof Peacock explained that PIGOUT® development was fast-tracked by the Feral
Pig Action Agenda and the need for an alternative to traditional meat and grain
based baiting programmes after the disastrous foot and mouth disease outbreak in
the UK.
"With our huge population of feral pigs, a new outbreak of foot and mouth
disease could prove incredibly expensive, if not impossible to contain or
eradicate," he said.
ACTA Managing Director Professor Linton Staples said "PIGOUT® gives pest
managers the ability to rapidly knock down pig numbers, as it can be aerially or
ground deployed".
"Extensive field-testing in a variety of ecosystems across the country has
ensured that we are delivering a product that is convenient, clean to handle,
relatively fast-acting and capable of substantially reducing the risk to other
species", he said.
"The trials showed most PIGOUT® baits are rapidly consumed. Management
strategies such as using bait stations or retrieving remaining baits in
sensitive environments further reduce any likelihood of non-target impact",
Professor Staples said.
Australia now has a tool which can have a real chance of reducing millions of
feral pigs and the resultant damage to ecosystems and economy. PIGOUT® is also
being investigated as a carrier matrix for countries interested in vaccines as a
disease transmission management tool.
Related website:
• Invasive Animals CRC
• Animal Control Technologies
Australia
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